About SihaDerana
We exist primarily to aide the people of Sri Lanka to develop themselves with pride, whilst preserving their culture, sense of high moral values, civilization and intrinsically linked Buddhist way of life. The end result being, to provide everyone who desires it, the possibility to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future for themselves, their families, friends and their country.
This may in a way be seen as the mission and vision of our organization and is driven by our philosophy.
SihaDerana is unique in many ways, but perhaps one of the most profound is that we operate not as a group but as a collection of independent individuals who share the same views and beliefs around the Sinhala way of life. We are all proud to be Sinhala and we value our Sinhala heritage and culture.
What SihaDerana concentrates on,
- Helping communities to help themselves to prosper, through training and education,
- Learning about the actual needs of individuals and communities by working together with them to understand their society, culture and heritage,
- Encouraging activities for self-development of individuals and communities, leading to a better standard of life created with a deep sense of pride. We do not believe in charity that leaves an emotional hole in people’s pride,
- Establishing meditation centers, and educational centers for enhancing the knowledge base of the community,
- Preservation of the true an unadulterated Dhamma as given by Buddha.
**Please Note: We have noticed a strong tendency to change the Dhamma through changes to the written words. We believe this should not be allowed to happen. The original knowledge and wisdom as passed on by Buddha must be kept intact without any adulterations to suit the interests of the individuals. - Establishing facilities and services to enhance and uplift the standards of facilities available to the society, to direct the individuals to a more prosperous living.
- Preservation and furtherance of the high sense of values of the Sri Lanka civilization through research and documentation of its culture, heritage and history.
Throughout our site and our literature you will see the term “Avatar” being used. At SihaDerana, we use this term to refer to the many facets of our operations carrying on projects and tasks that we take on in the pursuance of our mission and vision. As our work grows and progresses you will come across more and more of SihaDerana Avatars.
One very important aspect of SihaDerana is that it is run independently. There are no political connections and all of our work and Avatars follow the advice and guidance, when required, of an “Anushasaka Mandala” - අනුශාසක මණඩල - an advisory board.
This is a panel of knowledgeable and experienced persons, who have kindly agreed to help our organization towards the success of its objectives and mission.
They selflessly serve with no gain for themselves, and wielding no power or expectations of power for themselves. As such they prefer to donate their time with no publicity; therefore you will not find their names anywhere in this site or within our literature.
One of our current activities of prime importance is setting up meditation and educational facilities of outstanding standards including libraries where unadulterated versions of the Theravada Dhamma are maintained. These are aimed at making available opportunities for the youth of rural areas, for them to help themselves, at costs affordable to the less affluent sections of the society.
Educational targets for SihaDerana include, but are not limited to; enhancing the knowledge of Sinhala culture and heritage, developing disciplined and civilized lifestyles that enable the recipients to succeed within the society they live in. Emphasis will be on self-discipline and the ability to live with pride, in a kind, truthful, and just manner.
We fund the production of literary works and works of art for cultural development. Some of these are in turn sold, to assist our funding needs.
If you would like to learn more about our philosophy, our values and how you too can help, then follow the "Our Philosophy" link from the menus at the top of the page or click here.